DA Notice

Suburbs / Lake Macquarie / Caves Beach

NSW Planning fileLake Macquarie City Council2281Updated daily

Caves BeachDA activity & market read

Every council DA in Caves Beach, the work behind it, and who's building. Tradies get the new ones texted every Monday, filtered to their trade.

4,016
Population
49
Median age
$1,628/wk
Household income
39
DAs (12 mo)
$1.13M
Median house
$111k
Median DA cost
● About the area · cited

To the north is Swansea Heads and Ham's Beach, named after a family living on a hill behind the surf lifesaving club. Source ↗

● What the data says

Caves Beach runs renovation / extension first, with swimming pool / spa (78) close behind: renovation / extension leads at 84 of 286 DAs on record. A Premium-tier market on a $1.13M median, a typical job runs $111k, approvals are up 11% year on year.

$80k
116 Macquarie Grove
Demolition · 22 Sep 2026
$2k
98 Macquarie Grove
Earthworks · 16 Sep 2026
$800k
17 The Esplanade
Dwelling house · 16 Sep 2026
Not stated
17 Cinnabar Close
Dwelling house · 16 Sep 2026
$77k
21 Phillip Street
Erection of a new structure · 15 Sep 2026
$18k
98 Macquarie Grove
Other · 14 Sep 2026
$5k
4 Dolphin Court
Swimming pool · 8 Sep 2026
$120k
187 Macquarie Grove
Dwelling house · 7 Sep 2026
$593k
98 Macquarie Grove
Dwelling house · 7 Sep 2026
$46k
64 Ocean View Parade
Swimming pool · 6 Aug 2026
$200k
14 Sapphire Close
Erection of a new structure · 31 Jul 2026
$219k
2 Strathmore Road
Secondary dwelling · 31 Jul 2026
$80k
New Home , 22 Sep 2026
$1,500
Retaining Wall , 16 Sep 2026
$800k
New Home , 16 Sep 2026
$593k
New Home , 7 Sep 2026
$120k
New Home , 7 Sep 2026
$46k
Pool , 6 Aug 2026
$200k
New Home , 31 Jul 2026
$219k
Granny Flat , 31 Jul 2026
$50k
New Home , 24 Jul 2026
$30k
New Home , 16 Jul 2026
$87k
New Home , 25 Jun 2026
$100k
New Home , 25 Jun 2026
$156k
New Home , 13 Jun 2026
$1.2m
New Home , 12 May 2026
$310k
New Home , 7 May 2026
$213k
New Home , 1 May 2026
$217k
New Home , 21 Apr 2026
$186k
New Home , 14 Apr 2026
Renovate-and-stay

29% of approvals are alterations and additions, so the work here is improving homes, not replacing them, your customer is a settled owner-occupier.

Rebuild market

26% of approvals are new builds or demolitions, so knock-down-rebuild is a genuine slice here, not just extensions.

Big-ticket jobs

the typical $111k approval is about 10% of the $1.13M median home, these are substantial transformations, not cosmetic touch-ups.

$1.67M
170 Caves Beach Road
Dwelling · 27 Jan 2022
$1.54M
28 Park Avenue
Alterations and additions to residential development · 7 Jul 2023
$1.45M
8 Civic Avenue
Subdivision · 31 Mar 2026
$1.26M
117 Park Avenue
Demolition · 3 Apr 2024
$1.24M
124 Macquarie Grove
Demolition · 10 Oct 2024

DAs lodged

Monthly, last 24 months (real NSW ePlanning data)
286
Total on record
39
Last 12 months
$111k
Median cost
1110

What they're building

All 286 DAs by category
Renovation / Extension84
Swimming Pool / Spa78
New Dwelling41
Demolition32
Deck / Balcony / Fence18
Granny Flat / Secondary10
Other10
Subdivision7
0-4
5-14
15-19
20-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65-74
75-84
85+
The biggest age band here is 65-74 (624 residents). Real ABS 2021 census bands, the resident profile behind who renovates, extends and builds.
Swansea High School
Secondary · Caves Beach
Caves Beach Public School
Primary · Caves Beach
Swansea Public School
Primary · Swansea

NSW public schools within ~3.5 km. Source: NSW Department of Education schools master dataset.

Which council handles development applications in Caves Beach?
Caves Beach sits in the Lake Macquarie City Council area. DA Notice pulls every DA Lake Macquarie City Council lodges for Caves Beach from the public NSW Planning Portal.
How many development approvals are there in Caves Beach?
In the last 365 days, Lake Macquarie City Council lodged 39 development applications in Caves Beach. We text you the new ones each Monday, filtered to your trade.
How do I get DA alerts for Caves Beach?
A weekly SMS, every Monday morning, listing the new DAs in Caves Beach that match your trade. No app. Reply STOP to cancel.
What does DA Notice cost?
$35 a month, cancel anytime by replying STOP to any text.

The DAs land Monday 6am.
You call before the street knows.

One trade, one area, weekly. Every new Caves Beach approval that matches your trade, texted with the address and the job. $35/month, reply STOP anytime.